Yuta stood in front of the café, nervously fidgeting with his hoodie string. He had called Toru to meet here. Leaving Maki to learn more about this world alone in his home with the Wi-Fi password, he left after giving Toru a call.
As for Maki, she was happy to get in touch with some modern culture after spending time in the One Piece world for so long.
He had made up his mind.
"I feel like a scumbag, but this has to happen. I'm going to break up with Toru," he muttered, feeling a sense of dread inside him.
He was the one who asked her out; however, it was clear that with the way he traveled between worlds, it was almost impossible to handle a normal relationship with Toru.
A simple example: the last time he was here, he went on a date with Toru—and even Rika was with him. For him, that was ages ago, but according to this world's time, it happened yesterday.
If that wasn't bad enough, the day before yesterday, he had gone on another date with Toru… and he didn't even remember how long ago that was. Same problem: time dilation.
Two dates in two days, and now he was here on the third day, giving her a call…
"Perhaps I should have waited a while."
It's not like he didn't like her—Toru was sweet, fun, and always made him laugh. But after traveling to other worlds, fighting Yonko, and, well… spending way too much time around a certain girl with heavenly legs… things were starting to feel different.
His feelings for Toru just hadn't grown the way they were supposed to.
He sighed. "Okay. Just say it like a normal person. 'Toru, I think we should go our separate ways.' Yeah. Clean and gentle. Totally easy."
Only he knew that he was two steps away from his King's Engine erupting.
Then Toru arrived.
She waved at him cheerfully. "Hey, Yuta! Sorry if I kept you waiting!" It was pretty easy to spot her. Just look for floating clothes.
Yuta smiled nervously. "N-No, not at all. I just got here too!"
They sat at a small table outside, awkwardly looking at each other. Both were quiet for a bit, sipping their drinks in silence. Something was off. They both knew it.
Yuta cleared his throat. "So, um, Toru, I wanted to talk abou—"
"Actually," she cut in, setting her cup down, "there's something I've been meaning to tell you too."
"..."
Yuta blinked. "Oh?"
Toru looked unusually serious. "Yuta… I think we should break up."
The world froze.
"Heh?"
Yuta blinked again. "Wait, what?"
"I've been thinking about it for a while," she said, pursing her lips tightly. Only Yuta's Sharingan saw that—why didn't others see it? Simple: Genjutsu.
"You're really sweet, and I had fun with you, but… we've barely held hands, you never text first, and honestly, I don't think we're really feeling it, are we?"
Yuta opened his mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again.
What the hell… what does this girl mean, 'only held hands'? I would have kissed you long ago if a certain loli wasn't wandering around me like a cursed spirit.
Thinking of Rika, Yuta had no idea what to feel anymore. The girl was sweet; he could feel she really loved him in her own childish way. But because of her, he never had any shot at real-life romance either.
"Wait—hold on—you're breaking up with me!"
Toru pursed her lips even tighter. "Hmm. I'm sorry. I tried, but it wasn't working between us. We went on dates before; there was always some distance between us. I know you felt it too, right?"
'Okay, she's definitely talking about that date Rika ruined.'
'But this is what I wanted, right? Making sure to break up before our relationship deepened. So why the hell am I not feeling good anymore…?' Yuta thought to himself. He knew this wasn't because he had strong feelings for Toru.
No… he knew…
Because he was getting dumped. He was supposed to be the one doing the dumping, not the other way around.
"So, I'm getting dumped?" Yuta had a rather ridiculous face.
"No… no, it's nothing wrong with you. I promise. It's just that we're not compatible, you know. I tried, but there was always some distance between us, and I… I feel that we should remain friends rather than part on bad terms if things didn't work out," she said in a very careful and cautious tone.
Seeing the girl like this, Yuta mentally slapped himself.
'What are you doing, you idiot? Don't make the girl feel bad. This is what you wanted.'
"Ah… well, it's fine, Toru. Don't worry about it. I value our friendship more than anything. Won't think anything bad about it. If you feel things aren't working out between us, then you don't have to explain yourself," Yuta instantly switched his tone, leaving Toru baffled.
Now she was a little jealous. Wasn't he supposed to be a little more devastated about this? She just broke up with him.
Of course, she didn't want him to be too affected by this—she was a sweet girl after all—but this sudden change of attitude left a bad taste in Toru's mouth.
A small pout appeared on her face. Of course, behind Yuta, no one was able to see it. And Yuta masterfully ignored it.
Toru leaned forward. "O-Okay, how about we agree that it was mutual?"
"Uh… hmm, sure. But I expect a break-up coffee. I'm not settling for anything less."
They both laughed awkwardly.
"Well, at least we're not making it weird," Toru said, standing up and dusting off her skirt.
Yuta stood too, scratching his head. "So, uh… friends?"
"Totally," she said with a grin.
As he saw the girl go, he didn't know what to say. First time he was dumped—and he felt happy.
Life sure was strange.
xxx
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